The LA-RIO creates a set of design guidelines for developers looking to build along the river's edges, and it's a crucial step in finally removing some of the concrete currently lining the river. According to city planner Tom Rothmann, this is the first plan for actually making changes along the river, unlike the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan, which provided more of a vision exercise. Rothmann told Curbed today that the overlay "requires changes along the river and a quarter-mile buffer around the river."